1.7.2017

Today was the first day everyone was home in the morning so I decided to treat everyone to a pancake breakfast. Not just any pancake breakfast, but a Vegan and Gluten Free pancake breakfast. I’m picky with my pancakes. They must be yummy and they must be fluffy. Is that too much to ask? I don’t think so. Thankfully, this recipe offered both of those fantastic options.

Melt a tablespoon of vegan buttery spread in a large frying pan over medium heat (I have an electric stove and put the burner at about 5).

Spoon the batter into the pan, and cook until you see the edges starting to turn golden brown (about 5 minutes or so).

Flip pancakes and continue to cook until done, about 3 more minutes.

Serve with vegan buttery spread and syrup, or desired fruit topping.

To make these pancakes Gluten Free, I used a Gluten Free all-purpose flour and for the milk, I used Almond Milk. Now one of my favorite tips that I learned from my many hours of watching TFN, was not to over whisk the ingredients. It’s okay to leave some chunks in. After whisking a bit, the recipe asked to let the batter rest for about five minutes. After waiting, I scooped up the batter and let the fun begin.

If you’ve never made pancakes before, it can be a little hard knowing when to flip the pancakes without breaking or splitting. A tip I learned was to wait until you see little bubbles or air holes, then it’ll be safe to get ready to flip. I used to a non-stick copper pan, so I didn’t need to use any butter. You may need to use butter (vegan butter is available in the butter section at the grocery store) to keep your pancakes from sticking to the pan.

For lunch, I was lucky to have half of a shake left over from the day before. So after some yoga and some puggy cuddles, the weather made it a perfect day to snuggle with a shake and watch some football.

Dinner was an exciting treat! On my field trip to Whole Foods yesterday, I was picking up some cauliflower for some of my upcoming recipes. I noticed this spirally looking vegetable and I was intrigued by it’s shape. This woman came up to grab one and she noticed my confusion. She told me that it is a vegetable very similar to cauliflower. The taste may be different, but the consistency is similar. She said it is great roasted with some olive oil and sea salt. That was all I needed to hear. I grabbed it and I was on my way.

This amazing looking vegetable is actually a Romanesco Broccoli. I read that it is more crunchy than a cauliflower and had more of a nutty/earthy flavor. I knew I wanted to find a recipe that would make my new friend, Roman, the star of the dish. Look at that face, Roman deserves nothing less.

I found this recipe for a simple pasta with Romanesco. I love pasta, but I also feel that sometimes the sauce tends to cover up any additions to the dish. I liked this pasta in particular because it was simply tossed in olive oil, lemon, and red pepper.

Cutting this sucker was easy, it was nice and sturdy like cauliflower. After cutting and cleaning Roman, the recipe asks for a quick 3-minute boil. This helps to soften the vegetable before sautéing with the seasonings.

Now at this point you might be asking, “pasta? I thought you said VEGAN.. and GLUTEN FREE!” I’m glad you asked! My best friend since I converted into a vegan lifestyle has been Ancient Harvest. It’s a pasta brand that makes its pasta from corn and quinoa. Check out their website for more information! They can also be found at any grocery store from what I’ve seen. They make all types of pastas: spaghetti, linguini, shells, macaroni; they’re great!

Back to the recipe. I drizzled a bit of olive oil, then I added some crushed red pepper, drizzled lemon juice, added a teaspoon of minced garlic, and salt and pepper. Once I coated the pan, I added Roman to the mix. This took a bit of time because there’s a lot more to Roman than a cauliflower, this calls for a wonderful opportunity to taste its flavors and check for its consistency! Once Roman was at a desired consistency, I added the pasta and swirled that baby around. With a bit of tasting, I added more lemon and the rest of the seasonings. I even ended up adding some rosemary and Nutritional Yeast to the mix. This recipe calls for cheese, which I am unable to add for obvious reasons. The Nutritional Yeast is a seasoning that adds a bit of cheesiness to the recipe! It’s a vegan lifesaver!

This recipe was light and easy. I didn’t feel tied down and heavy afterwards like I usually do with pasta, yet Roman added a satisfying sustenance to the dish. There was still a slight crunch, but I also felt it’s taste provided enough of a blank pallet to compliment the refreshing taste of the lemon and with the heat of the red pepper. This is another easy dish that I would recommend for dinnertime. Feel free to add other favorite vegetables like tomatoes, or even mushrooms to create more depth and color to your meal.